Head Coach Jan Jensen took over the Iowa Women's Basketball program in 2024 after legendary Head Coach Lisa Bluder retired. Jensen had the tough task of replacing a legendary coach on the bench, and a legendary player on the court.
The Hawkeyes were playing their first season without superstar Caitlin Clark. Clark averaged 28.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 139 games for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa leaned on Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen and their senior leaders to push them through their first season in the post-Caitlin Clark era. Head Coach Jan Jensen was also a big part of the Hawkeyes' success.
National Rookie Coach of the Year 🤩@goiowa x @WBCA1981 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/aSiZaqzEBd
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 2, 2025
On Wednesday, Jensen was named the 2025 Spalding Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year. The award is presented to first-year Division I coaches who demonstrated on-court success.
In her first season as the head coach of the Hawkeyes, Jensen guided Iowa to a 23-11 (10-8 Big Ten) record, including an NCAA Tournament berth. It was the seventh consecutive season the Iowa Women's Basketball program received an NCAA Tournament berth (program record).
Before being named head coach, Jensen worked as an assistant coach under Lisa Bluder for 24 years. She helped guide the Hawkeyes to 22 postseason appearances and 18 NCAA Tournament berths.
Iowa has appeared in the postseason in 16 consecutive seasons (14 NCAA, 2 NIT), including two consecutive Final Four and National Championship game appearances (2023 and 2024).
Jensen has also played an integral part in recruiting. The Hawkeyes have had a top-20 recruiting class seven times under Jensen. She has recruited four McDonald's All-Americans (Samantha Logic, Lindsay Richards, Johanna Solverson, and Caitlin Clark) as an assistant coach.
Jensen aims to build on her successful first year during the 2025-2026 season.